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Hurdle chats Bucs baseball with Pirates fans

Hurdle chats Bucs baseball with Pirates fans

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Hurdle and Harrison on win 1:15

Clint Hurdle and Josh Harrison discuss the win over the D-backs and their five-run eighth inning

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MLB.com |

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle participated in a live online chat with Pirates fans on
Wednesday. During the chat, Hurdle answered questions about the success of the club so far, the fans
and city of Pittsburgh, the progress being made by many Pirates players and more. The complete chat
transcript follows.

Hurdle:: Hello, everyone, I'm here and ready to answer some questions from
our great fan base! Let's get started...

mschauer: After a forgetful year for Charlie Morton in 2010 he has made a
name for himself across the league in 2011. To what do you attribute his recent success?

Hurdle:: First and foremost Charlie was able to self evaluate the 2010 season -
the areas that he could control. The connection that he's made with Ray has provided him with a
mentor that can challenge him and push him forward. He wanted to develop some consistency, and
studying a lot of pitchers, hand-picked Roy Halladay to hopefully emulate. His sinking fastball has
become his bread-and-butter pitch. The challenge that he's working on now is to negate the left-
handed bats in the lineup. The split-change, the 4-seam fastball and the breaking ball thrown either
backdoor or back-foot are all becoming effective weapons for facing left handed hitters.

jonpone: Last night was a great example of not quitting. How do you keep
them going when they are losing in late innings?

Hurdle:: #1 - Good teams don't quit. #2 - Quitting is not acceptable here. #3 -
We owe it to our fan base to play a hard nine innings for 27 outs as long as it takes -- whether it is 9,000
fans or 30,000 fans. There has to be a certain honor you feel when you put on our uniform that says
"Pirates" on it. In the true spirit of being a Pirate, how could you ever quit?

18nalax: Congrats on the early success, Coach. I was wondering about the right
field situation. Will it continue to be a platoon situation, somebody become the everyday RF, or will we
see Alex Presley come up from Indianapolis?

Hurdle:: We put a lot of thought into the situation over the winter. We felt
confident that Matt Diaz and Garrett Jones would give us higher than average bats in right field. It
hasn't played out that way so far. Xavier Paul has gotten into the mix and has provided a spark and is
playing great defense. I do believe better days are ahead for Jones and Diaz. We've talked at length
about Alex Presley and we really like the job he's done in AAA to date. The spring wasn't kind to him.
He's been able to go down and improve his game. With that being said, there is a lot of baseball left
and it wouldn't surprise me to see Alex back here at some point this year. Basically put, the hot guy
plays.

buccos3108: With the recent call up of Tony Watson, will he only be used in
specific situations (i.e. vs. lefties)?

Hurdle:: He will not be used only in left-left situations. He has a three pitch mix
that gives him a bridge to get through right-handed hitters. The fastball, change and sliders were all
put to effective use in AAA. The splits were under .200 for both right and left-handed hitters. We are
happy for him and proud of him, and are glad he is here now to help us out this season.

jonpone: Did you hear the Pirates fans yell over the Phillies fans when they
tried to chant, "Let's Go Phillies" at PNC Park?

Hurdle:: Absolutely! I think our fans were very representative of protecting our
house. We look forward to the days when we have as many Pirates fans in Philadelphia as there were
Phillies fans in Pittsburgh.

axolotl: Have you noticed any palpable changes in the personality and overall
mood of the team since you first took over? If so, what have you seen?

Hurdle:: I've seen growing confidence. I think our team was able to honestly
self-evaluate the hard lessons learned from last season. We were looking forward to a clean start and
we've all had adversity in life and you can learn from it. Usually it is the best learning curve and I
believe our players learned a lot from last season. They've been able to put that into play and make
the adjustments for this season. They now have trust in each other. Trust up and down the lineup,
trust in the rotation and trust in the bullpen. And most importantly, they are also having fun.

Dantz: Mr. Hurdle, first of all thanks for all your hard work in getting this club to
play more consistently, and with more passion. That's been missing for a long time. That said, what
long term plans do you have for Xavier Paul and his expanding role on this team?

Hurdle:: One of the things that is unique about baseball is a lot of focus in put
on long-term vision. We are looking at short-term and trying to take care of business today. Everyone's
actions speak louder than their words and X has gained a lot of confidence here. He's been a welcome
addition to this club and it is up to him how he moves forward with playing time.

jbs17387: I know the season is young, but at this point, what is the most
pleasant surprise for you?

Hurdle:: The quality of work that has been done by our starting rotation.

spd12982: What area needs the most improvement at this point in the
season?

Hurdle:: Consistency on offense. Especially our two-strike approach.

jm_bucsfan: Any clue why the team is playing so well on the road this year? It's
been fun to watch, and if they could do the same at home, we could have a great summer of
baseball.

Hurdle:: It was a focus point over the winter and in Spring Training. Pain brings
immediate attention to a specific area. The road record was painful. We changed the structure of the
days as far as work, an up in awareness time, changed workout routines, and at the end of the day it
really helps that we are just playing better. We are pitching well and have had some timely hitting. But
as I said, we changed the structure of team and individual road routines.

jm_bucsfan: How much do you love Pittsburgh now that you're here for
real?

Hurdle:: My family and I are humbled by the way we've been embraced by the
community. The city fits us like a good pair of jeans. We are a blue collar family with a strong work ethic
and commitment to one another. We have a "dig it out of the dirt" mentality. We are everything this
city stands for since I made my first trip here in 1981. There is a hard-nosed mentality here that's
noticeable, but everyone here is soft where it counts -- in the heart. We love it.

bucs6079: Is Andrew McCutchen's recent surge due to a changed approach at
the plate?

Hurdle:: It's not so much a change of approach at the plate, more so a
redefined focus of what he wants to accomplish in the batter's box. He is becoming more consistent
with driving the ball to the big part of the field. Not being pull-sided only.

cw2124: Were there any players just drafted that really excited you and you
cannot wait to help them succeed in MLB?

Hurdle:: We're excited about all our picks. Obviously the top two have a chance
to be impactful -- Gerrit Cole and Josh Bell. We are proud of the job our amateur scouting department
has done, led by Greg Smith. He said they were confident and had conviction in their ability to go get
and sign players, and have been as good as anybody's scouting department the last four years. We are
thankful that Bob Nutting and Frank Coonelly have been so supportive and engaging in the financial
responsibilities that come with signing these players. We've spent more than anyone in the Draft in
the last three years. Kids know when Pirates scouts are present now, and that we're for real.

RobertoClemente21: With this great group of young players and how well we
are doing compared to previous years, do you expect any big-time trades or will trades be
minimal?

Hurdle:: Neal Huntington and his staff, and we're in conversation regularly, are
looking everyday to improve our ballclub. There is so much talk that doesn't get traction but deserves
attention. We want to make sure we're right on our players. Neal and his staff have done a very good
job over the years of acquiring talent, developing talent through our player development program and
their attention to detail and creative thinking have been very embracing for me to work with on a daily
basis.

Hurdle:: One more question today...

papatopher: Brandon Wood gets a lot of criticism due to his lack of offensive
production. How are you working with him to address his problems?

Hurdle:: We are trying to help Brandon eliminate a hand hitch that has become
more dynamic over time. He came to the big leagues with a small hitch, but as he's been here it has
gotten larger. We are trying to soften it up and shorten his path to the ball.

Hurdle:: One more, actually...

william011: Mr. Hurdle, how do you feel about batting the pitcher in the 8th
spot? William, Beaver Falls.

Hurdle:: Not a fan of it!

Hurdle:: Thanks again for all those who presented questions. Sorry for the ones
I wasn't able to get to. Just to finish, our commitment has not changed, our team's focus is to re-bond
this city behind its baseball team, and we will not rest until that is accomplished.